15 of the best Christmas crackers for adults

1. DIY crackers

Two For Joy

Surprise your guests with a set of homemade crackers this Crimbo. Small business owner Louise Richardson has designed a DIY cracker kit to help you produce six one-of-a-kind crackers. Priced at £14 (or two sets for £22), the kit includes name tags, templates, cracker snaps, tissue hats, joke sheets, double-sided sticky tape, ribbon, a ruler and scoring sticks. All you need is a pair of scissors and some tiny cracker gifts, such as an after-dinner chocolate or a bottle of nail polish.

£46 for six templates; etsy.com

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2. Gin and tonic crackers

Fever-Tree

Fancy tonic brand Fever-Tree’s Christmas cracker selection is back, featuring a selection of perfectly-paired G&T crackers, including Fever-Tree Ultimate Elderflower Tonic and Audemus Pink Pepper Gin, and Fever-Tree Ultimate Aromatic Tonic and Edinburgh Christmas Gin. Crackers can also be purchased individually, for £8.50 a pop.

£34 FOR A BOX OF FOUR; JOHNLEWIS.COM

3. Christmas cracker pack

Johnnie Walker

These six blended Scotch whisky crackers (available exclusively at Costco) make great stocking fillers, secret Santa presents or Christmas table treats. One pack contains two 5cl bottles of Johnnie Walker Red Label, two 5cl Black Label and two 5cl Gold Label Reserve.

£20 for six crackers; costco.co.uk

4. Original sock crackers

Sock Crackers

Want to pull a cracker with a conscience this Christmas? These plastic-free crackers contain a pair of festive socks (as well as a joke and a hat) – and for every cracker sold, a pair of socks goes to a person who will be homeless over the festive season. There’s also the option to buy a build-your-own cracker kit, which saves you £1 per cracker.

£4.50 for one; sock-crackers.square.site

5. Charity Christmas crackers

Advent of Change

Social enterprise Advent of Change is bringing charity to the table this Christmas. Each cracker contains a joke written by a celebrity, a cardboard bauble and a tissue paper hat, plus a charitable donation. Of each set sold, £12 will go towards charity (the cardboard bauble outlines which specific charity your cracker has benefitted). And, if you hate the tat which comes with regular crackers, it’s worth noting that this set is completely plastic-free, with the contents of each cracker recyclable and/or compostable.

£25.95 for a box of six; adventofchange.com

6. Wine, prosecco and G&T crackers

Virgin Wines

Filled with a choice of wine, prosecco, or gin and tonic (as well as the classic paper hat and cheesy joke), Virgin Wines’s premium crackers are the perfect ingredient for a booze-tastic Christmas dinner. The gin line-up includes double measures from six fine gin brands, including Silent Pool and Whitley Neill. Each cracker also contains a can of Double Dutch tonic water.

FROM £35.99 FOR A BOX OF SIX; VIRGINWINES.CO.UK

7. Christmas beer crackers

Black Sheep

Retailing at £5.50 for one, Black Sheep’s Christmas beer cracker is the same price (or cheaper) than getting a pint down the pub. Each cracker comes with one of Black Sheep’s award-winning beers, with flavours including Pineapple Milkshake IPA, Choc-Orange Stout, and Monty Python’s Holy Grail. These crackers also make great stocking fillers.

£5.50 for one; BLACKSHEEPBREWERY.COM

8. Organic Christmas crackers

Daylesford

Fancy farm shop Daylesford’s new Christmas crackers feature a design by The New York Times illustrator Hugo Guinness, inspired by the wildlife found on the farm. Each one is made from sustainable paper and contains annually flowering British flower seeds, suitable for any soil. Other gifts include large wooden dice, mini graters, wooden beaded bracelets for children and “Santa’s little helper” badges.

£45 FOR A BOX OF SIX; daylesford.com

9. Bamboo socks crackers

Swole Panda

As Jane Austen put it, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a pair of bamboo socks. Sustainable accessories brand Swole Panda has launched a luxury Christmas cracker which contains two pairs of bamboo socks. Each pair is knitted from a unique bamboo blend and features a reinforced heel and toe for added comfort and fit.

£19.95 for one; swolepanda.com

10. Beauty Christmas crackers

Bloom and Blossom

British wellbeing brand Bloom and Blossom is selling a range of non-traditional, self care-themed Christmas crackers. Highlights include Santa Baby (for new mums and mums-to-be) and Party Feet, which contains deluxe sizes of the brand’s Wonder Worker multitasking balm, to help soothe and nourish your heels, as well as Spritzy Toes Revitalising leg and foot spray (essential after hours of dancefloor action).

From £10 for one; bloomandblossom.com

11. Whisky crackers

Drinks by the Dram

If you’ve got a whisky fanatic joining you for Christmas this year, then these crackers couldn’t be a more perfect fit. Each cracker in the box of six contains a different 30ml dram of whisky (options include Glengoyne 10 Year Old, Smokehead and Green Isle), a party hat and a terrible joke (of course).

£39.95 FOR A BOX OF SIX; MASTEROFMALT.COM

12. Lapland crackers

Polaar Genuine

French brand Polaar has designed a set of unusual crackers created with ingredients sourced from the North Pole itself. These Lapland crackers contain three beauty products designed to keep your face, hands and lips nourished; one is a body cream containing Arctic rhodiola, which is known to aid repair of dry and sensitive skin.

£16 PER CRACKER; FEELUNIQUE.COM

13. Lockdown Liquor crackers

Lockdown Liquor

Each cracker in this box of six contains a miniature bottle of Lockdown Liquor’s signature blends, helping you elevate your Christmas cocktails. Blended cocktail flavours include Old Fashioned, Espresso Martini, Picante, Pepino and a limited-edition blend called Cuban Toddy (Lockdown Liquor’s take on a negroni).

£60 for a box of six; lockdown-liquor.com

14. Craft gin crackers

Franklin & Sons

For a truly luxurious Christmas cracker experience, Franklin & Sons has curated a premium collection containing a beautifully packaged gin and mixer combination. Classic gins by Sipsmith and Rock Rose sit alongside the latest innovations from Warners, Manchester Gin, Silent Pool and Masons, and all are accompanied by Franklin & Sons tonic water and ginger ale.

£35 FOR A BOX OF SIX; GOODTIMEIN.CO.UK

15. Luxury tartan crackers

The Fife Arms

Spruce up your festive table with these tartan crackers, created exclusively for the luxury Fife Arms hotel in the Scottish highlands. Each cracker contains a beautiful handmade gift from Aberdeenshire gift shop McLean of Braemar, including a sustainable red deer antler, an egg spoon, a whistle key ring, a bottle stopper and an olive pick. Also included in each cracker is a poem by a Scottish legend, from Robert Louis Stevenson to Robert Burns.

£145 FOR A BOX OF SIX; THEFIFEARMS.COM